Pile driver



-Nov. 10, 1931. J. H. THORNLEY 1,831,211

FILE DRIVER Filed March 2, 1931 Sheets-Sheet l a I/wemw" JOSep/Uf Thorn/g fifiowu wl, w-

Nov. 10, 1931. J. H. mo'R- LEY 1,831,211

FILE DRIVER Filed March 2, 1951 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 10, 1 931 UNITED STATES P E T".

JOSEPH H. TI-IOBNLEY, or EVANSTON, "ILLINOIS PILE DRIVER Application filed March 2,

to drive inclined or batter piles in the construction of trestlework, inclined reenforcing struts and the like. Also, in my copending application on river control dikes, Serial No.

' 458,996, filed June 2, 1930, I have illustrated another situation which calls for the formation of inclined piles in a particular relation. In that case the piles are grouped in pairs,

with the cooperating piles of each pair in clined at opposite angles and having their upper ends intersecting or substantially in- ,tersecting at a substantially definite height above the river bottom." The present con- .struction of pile driver has been devised to simplify the operation offorming these dike piles but in devising an improved structure for this purpose I have also developed a pile driver which possesses numerous advantages Y over prior constructions for performing the more general operations incident to driving inclined piles for trestlework and the like.

Two acute problems arise in any operation of driving piles or forming piles at an angle to the vertical, first, the matter of stability of the pile driver, and, second, the expense and difliculty of maneuvering between the operations of driving or forming two inclined piles (or an inclined and a vertical pile).

WVith reference to stability, this problem involves stability during the maneuvering or moving of the pile driver, and also stability during any pulling operation. By pulling operation, I have reference to steps frequently involved in the formation of cast-in-place concrete piles where it is usually necessary to pull the form casing out of the ground after the concrete has been deposited therein, or where it may require considerable force to pull the core up through the casing after sinking the hole to the desired depth. 7 The pile drivers heretofore suggested oruse'd for inclined pile work are of three general classes; first, those in which permanently inclined hammer leads are employed extending from the upper portion ofthe derrickor 1931. Serial n 519,475.

tower in a downward and forwarddirection so that the lower endsof these leads are secured to the front end of the piledriver platform; second, those'in which the entire tower is adapted to be tilted in a fore and aft di of) rection with respect to the length Oftllepile driver platform, being held in its inclined position by separate struts connectedbetween. the rear end of the tilted tower and the platform; and, third, those in which the hammer leads proper are pivotal'ly connected to tlie upper end of the tower so that theleads can be swung laterally to one side orthe other with respect to the length of the pile driver, platform. The first of these has no stability for pulling because the line of action or line of pull is so far removed from'the eflt'e'ctive? point of support of the platform. ThesSecQI 0nd of these has slightly better stability for pulling but even here the line of pull is rela- 10 tively remote from the point'of support," major objection to this type isvitsinstability' for movement because of the forwardly tilted; tower. The third type haspractically no stability for pulling because such tension would tip I it over sidewise. Most of these, prior constructions have been developed primarily for driving operations, where there was no pulling operation to be per formed. One of the principal objects of my180 invention is to provide an improved pile driver for driving piles, or forperforming pile forming operations, at an angle to the vertical, which pile driver will be inherently stable at all times during maneuvering oper ations and; during pulling operations. v

With respect to the necessity andfdilficul ties of maneuvering the pile driver between successive pile operations, it will beev'ident" that in allsituations the range and" type of movement required in changing" from' one f pile location. to anothershould be as small and simple as possible in order to expedite operations. In the case of pile'drivers requiring a-considerable rang-e ofmovement, it may be impossible to uset'hem, in; some situations because of cramped space, and in. situations where the pile driver is supported on a temporary falsework the need-fora" wide range of movement requires that an-ex M0 tensive false work of large area be provided, and the necessity of any back and forth shifting on this false work slows up operations considerably. The latter situation is particularly illustrated in the construction of a river control dike such as I have disclosed in my copending application above referred to. In that case, A-shaped frames are erected by sinking two oppositely inclined piles into the river bed, one pile inclined upstream and the otherpile clownstream. The upper ends of the two cooperating piles are preferably arranged to intersect at a more or less definite height above the river bottom. These piles are preferably cast-in-place concrete piles, involving pulling operations as I have previously mentioned. For sinking these piles, the pile driver plant is carried out over the river on a temporary false work supported in the river bed along the intended line of the dike. The point of intersection of the A-frame piles is below the top of this false work and below the line of travelof the pile driver along the false work. To form these piles with the prior types of pile drivers would necessitate that the entire bed and platform of the driver be shifted through a considerable range of movement from one side of the false work to the other in changing from one inclined pile to the oppositely inclined pile, and this would necessitate a very wide false work and would involve considerable loss oftime in shifting the driver.

' It is one of the objects of my invention to avoid these difficulties and objections by providin an improved pile driver wherein the platform has a turntable mounting on its under bed and wherein the line of action of the inclined hammer leads intersects the turntable axis at a :point below the platform or in'proximity thereto. By the use ofthis improved construction itis only necessary to swivel the platform through a half revolution on its turntable mounting in changing from one inclined pile to the oppositely inclined pile, completely avoiding any necessity of shifting the driver bed laterally and enabling the bed to be supported on aconiparatively narrow false work.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of pile driver which can be used alternately for driving or forming inclined or vertical piles without necessitatingthe shifting of any hammer leads; also to provide such a pile, driver which is stablewhen pulling piles or pile casings which are either inclined or vertical. The latter feature enables the same pile driver which forms the inclined piles to be used for driving the temporary wood piles constituting the supporting legs of the false work, and for pulling up these temporary piles when the false work is to be removed. r

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction having permanent inclined hammer leads for inclined operations and permanent vertical leads for vertical operations, and to provide an arrangement whereby a single hammer unit may be readily transposed from one pair of leads to the other for performing operations along the line of either pair of leads.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill hereinafter appear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof. In the accompanying drawings illustrating such embodiment:

Figure 1 is a side 'elevational view of the present pile driver engaged in the operation of constructing river control dikes, the upper portion of the derrick structure being broken away to'reduce the height of the figure, this illustration showing the pile driver inthe position for driving vertical piles;

Figure 2 is a view from the end of the dike, showing the pile driver platform revolved to a position at right angles to that shown in Figure 1, for performing operations in the formation of one of the inclined piles of an A-frame;

Figure 3 1s a plan View showing the pile driver platform in this latter position, a por ion of the platform being broken away; I Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion-of the derrick or tower Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view. through this portion of the tower, showing the manner in whlch the pile driving ham-.

mer can be transposed from one set of leads to the. other; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view through a modified construction of turntable mounting.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 I have illustrated the present piledriver as being engaged in the construction. of a river control dike, such as is'disclosed in my above mentioned copend-,

ing application, Serial No. 458,996. As I have pointed out therein, these dikes are to be erected for forming sedimentary control bars for the purpose of narrowing the channel of the river. 7 prises a series of A-frames located at spaced points along the intended line of the dike,

each of these A-frames being built up of two oppositely inclined piles. Referring toFig-.

ure 2, these piles, indicated at 11 and 11, are preferably of steel and concrete construction with the two piles of each pair inclined upwardly at an angle to each other so that when the upperv ends of the piles are joined together the resulting structure will be substantially in the form of an A or inverted V frame. As pointed out in-the. aforesaid application, connected piles in this angular relation act directly in tension and compression in resisting the force of the. current, and are much stronger and more durable than vertical piles dependin-gsolely on a can The dike structure com intothe stream along the intended'line ofthe' dike piles, in order to carry the pile driver. This temporary trestlework would ordina rily be constructed of substantially, vertical wood piles 12, cross-braced at their upper ends by the beams 13. According to my im-' proved method of constructing these dikes, the formation of the dike piles 11, 11 and the construction of the trestlework are progressive, that is, the trestlework is built outto the point of sinking one pair of dike piles, these piles are then formed, thetrestlework is then built out further to the desired location of the next pair of dike piles, these, are then formed, and so on. Thus, pursuing this type of operation involves the alternating operation of driving a certain number of substantially vertical piles and then driving or forming a certain number of inclined piles. The present pile driver is particularly adaptedto meeting these requirements, and. ac: 'cordingly I have shownthe pile driver as being used in this particular situation, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

The pile driver comprises a bed 14 which is adapted to bemoved progressivelyalong the false work 12, 13 on two parallel rails 15. In the preferred manner of operation, this pair of rails is moved forwardly across the tops of the cross beams 13 when the bed approaches the outer ends of said rails, the successive shifting of the bed and of the rails beingperforme'd substantially in the manner disclosed in another of my'copending applications, Serial No. 406,759, filed November 13, 1929. The rails are preferably I-beams or of some similar section having upper flanges,

and the bed 14 has pairs of brackets 16 secured thereto and engaging under the rail flanges at points spaced fore and aft of the bedand engaging on opposite sides of the rails for positively holding the bed against tilting relatively to the rails, notwithstandlng any driving or hoisting stresses which may be set up in the hammer leads. The bed 14 may slide directly on the rails 15, or rollers may be interposed between the bed and the top surfaces of the rails.

Rotatably mounted on the bed 14 is the platform 18 which supports the derrick structure and the power'plant. The turntable mounting of the platform 18, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, comprises large diameter bearing rings or rails 19 and 21' secured to the bed and to the platform, respectively.

Rollers may be interposedbetween these bearing rings, or they may contact directly. A king bolt 22 extends down through the platform and bed concentrically of the bearing ringsand ties the bed and'platform together in rotatable relation against tipping of the platform relatively to'the' 'bed. Figure 6 illustrates an alternative turntable mounting I I wherein the king bolt 22 is dispensed with.

In this embodiment the bed and turntable are provided withcircularly arranged rails or bearing surfaces 19 and 21, and the lower circular rail on the bed has an inwardly extending flange 19. Secured to the under side of the platform are a plurality of angularly spaced brackets 23 which engage under the flange 19 for positively preventing tipping of the platform relatively to the bed," while still permitting rotation of the platform on the bed. Any suitable power actuated means may be provided for 'swivelingthe platform around on its turntable mounting.

The power plant 24 comprising the boiler, engine and winding" drums 25 is generally grouped adjacent to the rear end of the platform 18,.and the tower or derrick structure 26 rises from the front end of the-platform. The latter comprises two substantially vertical columns '27, the opposed inner: faces ofwhich form the substantially vertical hammer leads 28. These columns may consist of structuralsteel bars, such as I-beamsor' H- beams with opposed inner surfaces-directly forming the guide surfaces of the leads, or they' may consist' of heavy timbers having their inner surfaces faced with channel bars forming the guide surfaces. The derrick or tower as ordinarily constructed comprises inclined rear struts 31 extending from the upper portions of the vertical columns'27 down to the platform 18. In accordance 3'1.

with one of the objects of my invention, I

incline these struts 31- at the desired angle of the inclined piles to-be driven or formed, and use these strutsas the inclined hammer leads when performing the operations of driving inclined piles or forming inclined piles. Said struts 31 may also consist of structural bars of I-beam orH-beam section, or may consist of timbers having their opposed inner surfaces faced with channels to form the leads The tower is reinforced by horizontal side braces 33 and diagonal side braces 34, and also by transverse cross braces 35. As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the transverse.

braces 35 are set back inwardly from the vertical leads 28 and from the inclined leads 32 so as not to interfere with the movement of the hammer and pile apparatus between either of these pairs of leads.

- The line of action along the inclined leads is represented by the dash-and-dot line a. The axial center line of the turntable mounting on which the platform swivels is represented by the'dash-and-dot line 0. In the preferred arrangement, and according to one of I the objects ofmy invention, the'inclined leads 32' are arranged to intersect the platform 18 .at a point where'the line of action a along the.

inclined leads'will pass down through theplatform'18 andthr'ough the bed l tat points 5 within the turntable bearing rings 19, 21,

generally in fairly close proximity to the made inherently stable against hoisting or pulling stresses along the line of action a, and

in that it avoids the necessity ofany side-wise shifting of the bed 1 1 in order to sink "the oppositely inclined piles 11,11 which are supposed to intersect each-otherbelow the line of travel of the pile driver. WVith refer, ence to stability, it will be evident that all hoisting stresses along the inclined line of action a are confined between diametrically opposite points of bearing support on the turntable rings 19, 21 whereby these hoisting stresses are incapable of developing any tippingstresses in the tower. lVith reference to avoiding thenecessity of maneuvering, it will beevident from Figure 2 that by merely swinging the platform to a position at right angles to the bed 1 1, as shown in said figure, the inclined leads are placed inalignment with the position of the pile 11, and after this pile is formed it is only necessary to revolve the platform through .a halfrevolution to bring the inclined leads into alignment with the proper position for the other pile 11, which is then formed and joined to the upper end of the pile l1. Onepile is inclined upstream and the other pile downstream and the upper ends of the two piles .are rigidly joined together substantially at their point offintersectionso that one pile will act-in tension and the other pile in compression in resieting the force of the current. As described in my copending application, Serial No. 458,996, the series of spaced A-frames 11,11

thus formed along the line of the-dike are allconnected together by transverse bars, cablesor hog rum to function as-debris intercepting means whereby a sedimentary :river control bar is caused to build up along the line of these A-frames.

The practical construction of these A- frames makes it desirable or imperative that the upper ends of the two oppositely inclined 4 piles intersect or substantially intersect each other adjacent to the bed of the river, and that these intersecting or adjacent ends be rigidly joined together by bolting and by gusset plates in orderthat the full strength of the frame may be obtained. The above described relation between the inclined hammer leads and the turntable axis makes it possible to establish'these two piles in'thisdesired relation without maneuvering the bed of the pile driver sidewise. That is to say, by having the inclined line of action a intersect :or 1

pass across the line or plane of the turntable axis 0 at apoint below the pile driver bedor below the line of travel thereof it is possible to form both piles by merely swiveling the platformsl8'between two oppositely ext-endingpositions and 'then,:after these piles have been formed, to' move the bed along therails; 15 and over the tops of the cross beams .13 to the next point ofvo'peration. Any attempt: to utilize'the prior types'of pile drivers, o.r. any pile driver wherein the line of action along theinclined leads intersects the turntable axis at a point considerably above the. bed or platform' introduces numerous difiiculties such as the necessity of a relatively wide false work 12, 13 and the shifting of the bed 14 sidewise on this false work in changing from one pile to the other, or the inability I to movethe pile driver forwardly along the. false work after the piles have been formed, or the necessity of a very high false work considerably above the level of the river. By thepresent construction and mode of opera tion the false work need only be sufliciently wide to support the two rails 15, 15, and these pan be disposed approximately at the waterevel.v

The piles or pile forming equipment-operating along the line of the inclined leads 32' pass down through an opening 37 formed in, the platform 18 coextensive with the base ends of the inclined leads, as shown in Fig.- ure 3. Where the king bolt-22 is employed,- a plurality of angularly spaced-openings -38 formed in the bed 14 atdifferentpoints around-the king boltso that piles and pile forming equipment can pass down through any one of these openings, depending-upon the angular position of; the platform 181E131? tively to the bed, Where the king .bolt 22 is not utilized but relative tipping is prevented by the interlocking arrangement .of flanges and brackets on the platform and bed, as shown in Figure 6, a relatively large opening 39 may be formed in the-central portion of the bed for passing piles and pile equipment driven in any angular position of the platto enable the hammer to be moveddown to a lower point for driving operations. It will be evident that under some circumstances wheinclined lineof action'a might be-arranged;to intersect the turntable axis-0 at a somewhat higherpoint in proximity to the bed 14 or platform 18.

WVhere the practice of building :the false work progressively with the construction of the A-frames is followed, the pile driver is used alternately to sink the inclined piles 11, 11 and then to drive the temporary wood piles 12, 12;, Figure 1 illustrates the operation ofdriving 'oneof these temporary wood pil.es, su,ch being performed between the vertical hammer leads 28. By arranging the inclined leads in :the manner above described,

' the vertical hammer leads may, iftdesired, be

positioned at a point having a comparatively short overhang beyond the turntable -eari-njg rings 19, 21 -so that the structure is stable against hoisting stresses acting :along the its .line of these vertical leads. can be swung from, side to side in drivlng .these temporary piles 12, and the latter may The platform clined leads 32, although, to avoid the expense of a second hammer unit I preferably make provision for transposing one hammer unit from one pair 'of leads to the other. Supported at the top of the derrick struc-lure is a head block or frame 41 on which an upper sheave 42 is mounted for guiding a cable 43 which is connected at one end to the hammer unit 44 and extends from the back side of the top sheave 42 down to one of the winding drums 25. The hammer is preferably of the type comprising a power cylinder for raising and dropping a ram contained in the hammer .unit, in which case the cable 43' would only serve to raise and lower the entire hammer unit; although, if deslred, the hammer might consist of an ordinary ram adapted to .be

' raised and dropped in pile driving operations through actuation of the cable 43. Referring to Figure 4, the vertical leads 28 and the inclined leads 32 terminate or are cut back through a distance below the head block 41 at least equal to the length of the hammer unit, so that the unitcan be hoisted up into a position at the toprof the derrick where it I is completely clear of each pair of leads.

When in this position the hammer unit can be transposed from one pair of leads to the other. The hammer has the usual grooved or channel-shaped guides 45 usually extending throughout the length of the hammer unit and adapted to embrace the leads 28 or 32.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the upper ends,

of the vertical leads 28 are chamfered or beveled, as indicated at 28, and the upper ends of the inclined leads 32 are likewise chamfered or beveled as indicated at 32, to facilitate the guides 45 of the hammer unit being lowered down into registry over the leads 28 or 32.

When the hammer is raised up into the transposing position illustrated in Figure 5 it can be allowed to swing forwardly into registry with the vertical leads 28, or it can be pulled rearwardly into registry with the inclined leads 32, through the slacking or pulling in of a secondary cable 47. This cable is attached to the hammer unit, preferably at a point adjacent to the center of mass thereof, and passes rearwardly over a guide sheave 48 supported on brackets 49 extending rear wardly from the derrick structure, this secondary cable thence passing down to any suitable winding means 51 mounted on the derrick or at any other convenient place on the platform 18. The top guide sheave 42 is preferably so disposed that the point at which the hoisting cable 43 takes off the front side itself with the vertical leads 28.

,of the sheave is substantially at the intersection of the inclined line of action a of the inclined leads andthe vertical line of action ofthe vertical leads. Thus, in any hoisting operation in either pair of leads the line of pull of the cable or tackleis directly along the medial line of the'leads. Also, by this arrangement, when the hammer unit is hoisted into the transposing position illustrated in Figure 5 it normally tends to align To transpose thehammer unit to the inclined leads 32 "it is only necessary to pull in on the transposing cable 47 wherebyto swing the hammer unit into registry with the inclined leads,

and thereupon by slacking ofi onthe hoisting cable 43 the hammer unitcan be lowered down over the inclined leads. The transposing cable 47 is preferably detachably connected to the hammer unit so that it can be unfastened therefrom when the hammer is being used for a considerable time in either pair of leads.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the present construction of pile driver is stable during maneuvering, either when shifting sidewise, endwise or when rotatingthe platform on its turntable, and that the construction is also inherently stable against pulling stresses arising from, hoisting operations performed between either pair of leads. While I have described this construction in connection withthe erection of river control dikes inwhich use it has particular advantage, nevertheless it will be understood that this construction also has advantageous utility in connection with more general operations. It is also to be understood that numerous modifications, changes and rearrangements of the parts may bemade without departing from the broader aspects of the invention.

I claim: I v r p 1. In a pile driver, the combination of a derrick structure comprising substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, and hammer means movable in said leads for driving piles substantially vertically or on an incline.

2. In a pile driver, the combination of a platform, a derrick structure rising therefrom comprising substantially vertical columns spaced apart, guide means on said columnsv forming, substantially vertical hammer leads, inclined struts extendingbetween said columns and said'pla-tform, guide means on said struts forming inclined hammer leads, and hammer means movable on said leads for driving piles either substantially vertically or on an incline. Y Y

In "a pile driver, the combination of a platform, a" derrick structure rising therefrom comprising substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, ham

mounted whereby inclined piles can be driven tically or on an incline, and cross braces in said derrick structure connecting said substantially vertical hammer leads and connecting said inclined hammer leads, said cross braces being spaced inwardly from the planes of both pairs or leads to permit movement of said hammer means in said leads.

5. In a pile driver, the combination of a bed, a platform rotatable relatively to said bed on a turntable bearing ring, a derrick structure rising from said platform comprising' substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, and hammer means movable in said leads for driving, piles either substantially vertically or on anincline, said inclined hammer leads being arranged to have their line of action pass downwardly within said turntable bearing ring.

6. In a pile driver, the combination of a 7 bed, a platform,.means rotatably mounting said platform on said bed comprising a turntable bearing ring, a derrick structure rising from said platform comprising substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, said substantially vertical hammer leads being arranged to. have their line of action pass downwardly outside of saidturntable bearing ring and said inclined hammer leads being arranged to have their line of action pass downwardly within said bearing ring, and hammer means movable in said leads for driving piles substantially vertically or on an incline. r

7. In a pile driver, the combination of a bed, a platform, means rot-atably mounting said platform on said bed, and a pair of hammer leads above saidplatform inclined to have their line of action intersect the rotative axis of said platform at a point below said platform. i

8. In a pile driver, thecombination of a bed, a platform, means rotatably mounting said platform on said bed, and a supporting structure rising from said platform compris ingpermanently fixed hammer leads inclined to have their line of action intersect the rotative'axis of said platform at a point below said platform.

9. In a pile driver, the combination of a bed, a platform, means rotatably mounting said platform on said bed comprising a turntable bearing ring, and a supporting structure on said platform comprising inclined hammer leads arranged to have their line of action pass downwardly Within said turntable bearing ring and to intersect the rotative axis of said platform at a point below said platform.

said platform'at a point below said platform. r,

11. In a pile driver, the combination of a bed, a platform rotatably mounted on said bed, a derrick structure rising from said platform comprising substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, said substantially vertical hammer lead-s being disposed adjacent to one end of said platform, and said inclined hammer leads being arranged to have line of action pass down through said platform intermediate the ends thereof, and hammer means movable in said leads for driving piles either substantially vertically or on an incline.

12. In a pile driver, the combination of a derrick structure comprising two setsofhanr mer leads extending at an angle to each other, a pile driving hammer, and means for transposing said hammer from one set of leads to another. 1

13. In a pile driver, the combination of a derrick structure comprisingftwo sets of hammer leads extending at an angle to each other, and a pile driving hammer movable into and out of engagement with either set ofleads whereby said hammer can be transposed from oneset of leads to the other.

14. In a pile driver, the combination of a derrick structure comprising. substantially vertical hammer leads and inclined hammer leads, a pile driving hammer, and means for transposingsaid hammer from the upper portion'of said substantially vertical leads to the upper portion of said inclined leads, or vice versa.

'Inwitness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 31st day of January, 1931.

JOSEPH H. THORNLE'Y.

IOU 

